Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-21

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

The best way to provide enough homes in large cities is to build tall apartment blocks.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

I would partially agree to the statement that, the best way to give enough homes is to build tall appartment blocks in big urban areas. Because it has both pros and cons. It has advantages like tall apartments take less space but accommodates more people in a single building. In contrast, living in tall appartments may leed to lack of connectivity with other peoples and may cause of lonliness.

Firstly, we will discuss, how it's beneficial to live in appartment blocks. The main advantage of tall appartment blocks is that it takes less space on earth and provide enough homes to citizens. Usually, the appartments are well-designed and sometime furnished too. Mostly, the unique layout and great architecture of appartments attract the people. Another advantage is that, people can see the beautiful view of their city through balconies and can enjoy there having a cup of tea. It also easy to detect the location of the appartment blocks on internet such as google maps.

As this idea have many advantages, in contrast, it also have few flaws and risks that may result a serious damage.

The most common flaw of living in tall appartment building is that people lack connectivity with others such as their neighbours, relatives and friends. They even don't know who is living in next room to them. Its also may result of loneliness. many people died in the appartments due to depression, stress, anxity and lonliness.

For example, in 2012, there was 512 cases reported in India, who attempted suicide in appartments just because of loneliness and depression. It is the negative side of living in large appartments in big cities.

At the end, I want to say that the provided statement have both advantages as well as disadvantages.However, appartments are a good option if you are living with your family here. But if you want to live here alone so, I think its not a good idea. Because if you will be alone their and you have stress and depression then there is nobody here to listen you and feel you emotions like your love ones. Therefore, we should need to make decison of living while keeping a view on your current state of life.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of tall apartment blocks. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding 'connectivity' and 'loneliness' is a valid point, but the supporting example (the 2012 statistic) is not well-integrated and lacks a clear connection to the architectural nature of the buildings themselves. The position is clear, but the conclusion is slightly repetitive and lacks a strong synthesis of the arguments presented. To improve, focus on providing more nuanced analysis of urban planning rather than focusing on personal emotional states.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'Firstly' and 'In contrast'. Some transitions are awkward, such as 'At the end, I want to say that...', which is too informal for an academic essay. Additionally, referencing is sometimes unclear; for example, the pronoun 'they' in the second paragraph does not clearly link back to a specific noun phrase in the previous sentence. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clear pronoun reference would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There are several spelling errors, such as 'appartment', 'leed', 'anxity', and 'decison'. The word choice is often basic, relying on simple descriptors like 'good' or 'beautiful'. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'urban areas' and 'architecture', the overall range is limited. To achieve a higher score, the student should focus on accurate spelling and incorporating more sophisticated collocations related to urban development and social dynamics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('this idea have', 'statement have'), article usage ('the beautiful view of their city'), and sentence fragments or run-on sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and verb tense consistency would be highly beneficial.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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